By Frederic Germay
First of all, I would like to point out that I didn't watch this episode when it aired. Unfortunately, I had work at the time and I ended up having to tape it. When I came home, my brother leapt up to tell me what happened. I quickly warned him to remain silent, but he had already (gleefully, I might add) told me that the outcome was 'unexpected.' I believe that shifty revelation played an important part in how I viewed the episode, because I was literally on the edge of my seat for the entire episode, completely unaware of the outcome.
This episode picked up directly after last week's rather disappointing episode. The battle of the genders had resumed, and it was Rock, Brad, Vinnie, and Josh against Bonnie, Jen, Melissa, and Julia. I had predicted that Josh and Julia would bring about the downfall of their corresponding teams, and it was only a matter of who would end up wreaking the most havoc. Thankfully, Julia seemed to temporarily set aside her jealous attitude and agree to help to Bonnie to the best of her ability. Despite being recommended for cancellation on numerous occasions, Josh apparently bore no visible resentment to Rock.
Last week's lightly touched upon task of designing each half of the restaurant was finished up almost immediately. This somewhat bothered me, since the previous seasons had laid more emphasis on that particular challenge. Never the less, both restaurants ended up looking quite impressive, but I believe Rock's classy style worked better than Bonnie's hardwood floor design. Despite the previous episode focusing a bit on the waiter's outfits, this episode seemed to gloss right over that particular aspect. I'm not complaining about this episode being too full, but it would have probably been a good move to replace last week's fluff with this episode's detached material.
Rock immediately started to rally up his teammates energy to get them prepared for the final dinner service ahead. On the other hand, Bonnie seemed to be relaxing with some of her worried chefs. When Melissa voiced that Bonnie should at least prepare recipes, I was almost ready to agree with her -- if it weren't for the fact that Melissa's voice brought back some truly horrible memories. Despite the strong urge to pull a Van Gogh and sever my ears, I honestly felt that Melissa had a worthy point, and the fact that Bonnie failed to heed her advice could be a possible contributor to the lack of respect she later received in the dinner service.
Then the dinner service started. The way Ramsay praised Bonnie's light meal, yet was somewhat monotonous for Rock's heavy assortment of dishes put me in a rather wary state. I had long thought Rock would win the competition, even if he had a few personality disorders. Quite a few people have mentioned that the preceding episode was rigged to convince viewers that Bonnie had a fighting chance, but Bonnie's triumph over Rock in last week's challenge seems to confirm that Bonnie may actually win (unless that was rigged as well, although I seriously doubt it). My doubts over Rock's stability as champion were heightened especially because of my brother's proclamation of the result being 'unexpected.'
Rock and Bonnie both had strong starts, but incompetent chefs within their teams soon halted those bursts in expedience. Melissa proved once again why she was removed from "Hell's Kitchen," as she had difficulty with properly cooking any dish. Julia seemed to deliberately ignore Bonnie; then again Bonnie seemed to ignore Julia at certain points as well. However, I felt that Julia needed to show some respect to Bonnie and that feeling was magnified when Julia directly disobeyed Bonnie's requests. I think Chef Ramsay made the right decision in letting her go, seeing as she has lost almost all of her former respectability. In the end, Bonnie's team started to rally against her, and even her best friend Jen started to display a little bit of attitude.
On the other hand, Rock commanded his team excellently, but certain members lacked the proper cooking prowess to deliver. It certainly approached Melissa-levels of irritability each time Josh proudly declared to the camera that he is a talented cook. I think Ramsay would put it best by saying "Wakey-Wakey, you donkey!" to Josh, but I doubt that even Ramsay could relieve Josh of this utter delusion of grandeur. Every single dish that came Josh's way ended up being ruined. Every single time! This isn't NASA, come on! Josh almost single-handedly destroyed any chance of Rock winning. After much prodding from Ramsay, Rock finally switched Josh with Vinnie, and that turned out to be the miracle that Rock needed so badly to set him back on track.
After the dinner service ended, Ramsay told them how absolutely talented each of them were (borrring), and how he now has the most difficult decision ever in front of him now. I honestly thought that it could go either way, and I had a guilty tinge of wonder at how Rock would explode at being beaten by a nanny. Fortunately for him, Rock didn't have to experience that. Rock won. After having every corner of mind twisted in multiple directions for an hour, it finally seemed ridiculously predictable that Rock would end up winning.
This season of "Hell's Kitchen" is finally at its close, and I think I speak for many viewers when I label as the hands down best season yet. I give this episode a 9.5/10, and I only hope that "Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares" is just as entertaining.
